A student-led College of Law project will reach out to more than 2,300 Lincoln Public Schools eighth-graders during Constitution Day on Sept. 17.
The project is part of the college’s Community Legal Education Project, a student run organization that focuses on community outreach. The effort will include more than 60 volunteers fanning out to 10 Lincoln middle schools to teach about the importance and history of the Constitution.
“This is the second year we have worked with Lincoln Public Schools on this Constitution Day project,” said Chris Schmidt, a second-year law student and event organizer. “The Constitution gets a bad rap for being this ancient and old document, but we try to get the students to realize it is alive and affecting us every day.”
To show how the Constitution remains active, Schmidt said the presentations will involve current topics, including debates on the need for school uniforms and if freedom of speech applies to social media posts.
“We think the topic about if you can get in trouble for what you post online will be a good one to get the students’ blood going,” Schmidt said. “It’s going to be fun to show them what the Constitution says and how it even impacts the lives 13 year olds.”
The college’s Community Legal Education Project provides law students with the opportunity to teach elementary and middle school students about the Bill of Rights, the Constitution and other legal issues. During the spring semester, law students go into local elementary classrooms once a week for six weeks to teach prepared lessons.
For more information about the Constitution Day project, contact Schmidt at cschmidt239@gmail.com.
